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how did man appear on earth
- Thread starter zenzero
- Start date
Nobody really knows for sure the true answer to this, and while I do believe in the theory of evolution because of all the evidence backing it up, I will also say that because the theory is still in its childhood, we don't know much about it.
I'd like to remind everybody that fossils are very rare, and it is highly unlikely that we'll find fossil remains of every single human ancestor that ever existed. Remember that our species was the first to bury their dead. (as far as I know)
I do know that, like every other species, we didn't just "appear" out of thin air. It was a slow, gradual process that is still going on; while Adam would have been the same species, I guarantee that he would have looked very different from us at ~6000 years; the earliest members of our species would have looked nothing like us.
A single generation would never notice any difference. But I don't believe that we are now perfected; in fact, we've got a long way to go before we even get within a universe's diameter of that word.
I'd like to remind everybody that fossils are very rare, and it is highly unlikely that we'll find fossil remains of every single human ancestor that ever existed. Remember that our species was the first to bury their dead. (as far as I know)
I do know that, like every other species, we didn't just "appear" out of thin air. It was a slow, gradual process that is still going on; while Adam would have been the same species, I guarantee that he would have looked very different from us at ~6000 years; the earliest members of our species would have looked nothing like us.
A single generation would never notice any difference. But I don't believe that we are now perfected; in fact, we've got a long way to go before we even get within a universe's diameter of that word.
whereismynotecard
Treasure Hunter
whereismynotecard
Treasure Hunter
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
Big man done it! 
In all seriousness, I don't know. I don't really care, either, sadly. If we evolved, it doesn't change a thing - if we were created, it still doesn't change a thing. I tend to lean towards evolution, though.
If one reads through the words of the names of the Garden of Eden, it seems a little bit obvious it's not meant to be literal - just look at the names! It seems to be more like a story, a metaphor, for why we are here - more of an explanation about human ego and jealousy and how humanity is unable to listen to God. I guess it became literal as times changed and meanings were lost within the names?
Names:
Adam -Man (possibly signifying humanity?) or Dust
Eve (Havvah) - Living One
Cain (from what was South Arabian qyn - metalsmith)
Abel (modern Arabic cognate ibil - herdsman).
Seth - Placed/Appointed (because he was a 'replacement' for Abel, I guess?)
So we have, Man, Living One, Metalsmith and Herdsman, and Replacement.
Something about the etymology of their names shows that they probably were not intended to be real people.. to me at least
Who would really name their child "Replacement"? Poor kid!
Just my two cents! I may not be right, but at least it's neater.
In all seriousness, I don't know. I don't really care, either, sadly. If we evolved, it doesn't change a thing - if we were created, it still doesn't change a thing. I tend to lean towards evolution, though.
If one reads through the words of the names of the Garden of Eden, it seems a little bit obvious it's not meant to be literal - just look at the names! It seems to be more like a story, a metaphor, for why we are here - more of an explanation about human ego and jealousy and how humanity is unable to listen to God. I guess it became literal as times changed and meanings were lost within the names?
Names:
Adam -Man (possibly signifying humanity?) or Dust
Eve (Havvah) - Living One
Cain (from what was South Arabian qyn - metalsmith)
Abel (modern Arabic cognate ibil - herdsman).
Seth - Placed/Appointed (because he was a 'replacement' for Abel, I guess?)
So we have, Man, Living One, Metalsmith and Herdsman, and Replacement.
Something about the etymology of their names shows that they probably were not intended to be real people.. to me at least
Who would really name their child "Replacement"? Poor kid!
Just my two cents! I may not be right, but at least it's neater.
Draka
Wonder Woman
My response is this: The whole story of Genesis is a myth. Adam and Eve are mythological characters. They didn't really exist. At most you can take them as allegorical symbols.
Humans did not just "appear". They were not formed out of dirt by "god". If anything, we can be traced to the beginnings of life in water. We were not formed as clay. No mold, no shaping, no placing in any garden.
Humans did not just "appear". They were not formed out of dirt by "god". If anything, we can be traced to the beginnings of life in water. We were not formed as clay. No mold, no shaping, no placing in any garden.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
The whole? Including Moses??
I think Noah is also myth, or as I prefer it, symbolism.
In fact, even Job is symbolism (it's poetry in Hebrew!).
Jose Fly
Fisker of men
Actually, we do know quite a bit. Most people are surprised when they actually start to look at the data.
Although the fossil record is pretty much exactly what we would expect under human/primate shared ancestry, it's the genetic data that is the "slam dunk". Also, just because we may not know every detail about something, that doesn't prevent us from being able to say with a very high degree of confidence that it happened.
The whole? Including Moses??
I think Noah is also myth, or as I prefer it, symbolism.
In fact, even Job is symbolism (it's poetry in Hebrew!).
Moses doesn't show up until Exodus.
I think man first appeared on earth more or less as he appears now, except shorter, and with more hair and fewer hangups.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
I knew that!Moses doesn't show up until Exodus.
[I can't believe I forgot that!!! Awful ex-Christian, awful, awful!
]
Caladan
Agnostic Pantheist
Well..
In the beginning, there was nothing.. which exploded.
billions of years later, inside the primordial soup, some mischievous molecules decided they have to break free... yet billions of years later a bold ancestor of the homo habilis decided to use stones for tools, and yet millions of years later groups of hunter gatherers gradually moved into agriculture sedentary life, and created myths that represent their culture, these myths have passed inside the ancient near east, until they found their way into one of humanity's written world heritages, the bible, centuries later to be passed on to the Qur'an.
In the beginning, there was nothing.. which exploded.
billions of years later, inside the primordial soup, some mischievous molecules decided they have to break free... yet billions of years later a bold ancestor of the homo habilis decided to use stones for tools, and yet millions of years later groups of hunter gatherers gradually moved into agriculture sedentary life, and created myths that represent their culture, these myths have passed inside the ancient near east, until they found their way into one of humanity's written world heritages, the bible, centuries later to be passed on to the Qur'an.
Runewolf1973
Materialism/Animism
It's simple. We are energy. Energy changes form. Evolution at it's simplest is merely another form of that change. Maybe it did not happen exactly as Darwin explained it, but who knows? Everything that exists changes. There is no other way. Mankind is merely a product of that change.
I would have to say that by the sheer nature of energy itself, evolution makes the most sense. Mankind's appearance on earth is no more mysterious than any life form for that matter. We are like just another swing of the pendulum. But every time it swings, it is just slightly different.
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Don Penguinoini
Modi.
Peace is blatantly wrong. It is like saying 1+1=29323928328392. Well, that is wrong!
Evolution may not be the answer, but it is way closer than Adam and Eve, which is a story written by an old school mental patient..
Evolution may not be the answer, but it is way closer than Adam and Eve, which is a story written by an old school mental patient..
Nothing so strange or unusual. It's a myth.
Compared to what we "knew" 500 years ago, we've learned a lot. To me, saying "we know quite a bit" implies that we know more than half of what nature has to offer... when we don't even "see" everything that's actually there.
I know. My argument was really for those who believe that the holes in the fossil record is proof that the theory of evolution is wrong.
Um... no it wasn't.
It was a fireside story told by people who had no reason to think otherwise.